Automatic firearm



A. BARDELLI.

AUTOMATIC FIREARM.

APPLICATION FILED' APR. 1o, 1919.

Patented @6%. i2, ZSA,

UNITED STATES ARTURO BARDELLI,

PATENT orties.

OF MILAN, ITALY.

AUTOMATIC FIREARM.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTURO BARDELLI, residing at ll Piazza Castello, Milan, in the Kingdom of Italy, have invented new and useful Improvements in Automatic Firearms, of which the following is a specification.

W ith firearms, as well known, it` is advisable to have as little recoil as possible and to keep the barrel perfectly tight until the bullet has left the barrel, to which end the breech and the breech block should be rigidly connected until the said moment.

In guns of the movable barrel type this is readily obtainable, but in fixed barrel guns (whose construction allows of a reduction in the weight) the closure never is absolutely tight unless a quantity of gas is taken ofl'l from the barrel, which involves other not irrelevant inconveniences.

The arrangement forming the object of the present invention enables the attainment of the said two results, viz., reduction (if not suppression) of the recoil and absolute tightness of the gun the breech block being opened only after the bullet has left the barrel.

The annexed drawing diagrammatically shows by way of example in longitudinal section an automatic gun fitted with the arrangement according to the invention.

At the barrel muzzle a sleeve C is applied, the sleeve being adapted to slide on the disk D in the direction of the barrel axis. At the moment the bullet leaves the barrel, the gases tend to expand in the chamber C formed by the sleeve C and disk D, a pressure P being thus set up in the said chamber.

As the barrel is fixed, it is the sleeve that is shifted forward in the direction of the arrow -fas far as this is allowed by the spring M which limits the strokes of sleeve C and, when the gas expansion is completed, brings the sleeve back into its starting position.

The pressure P set up in chamber C can be varied within certain limits that may be established in advance by varying the chamber size or by forming gas outlet holes -fin the sleeve walls. Thus, not only a very considerable amount of energy is stored up, but at the instant the bullet issues from the muzzle and the arm starts recoiling, a stress in the opposite direction and tending to annul the recoil stroke is Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Oct. 12, 1920.

1919. Serial No. 289.129.

obtained. The arm as a whole will exhibit a greater stability than if there were no sleeve. l

If by any suitable method the aperture of the members closing the breech block is caused to be controlled by the forward movement of the sleeve, an absolute closure is obtained inasmuch as the breech and the breech block remain `rigidly connected as loig as the bullet has not yet left the barre According to the character and typel of gun concerned this can be realized in' different ways, one of which may be that described hereinafter andV illustrated in the annexed drawing.

rllhe breech block C, which is assumed to be cylindrical and similar to that of the ltalian 1891 pattern gun, is provided with two openings A in which, when the gun is closed, are lodged the teeth B of two closingV members V, or two small wings engaging the teeth of the closing members. Each closing member V consists of a lever pivoted at -p- (the latter may be either a pin or a fixed point of the breech C) and accordingly capable of rocking in the direction S andr thus releasing the breech block which can then begin its backward stroke.

The closing members however can rock Y only when the tooth CZ- of the sleeve in its movement in the direction -fcomes to bear against the projecting or inclined portion -j9- of the closing members. The springs mon the breech C rock the closing members back into closing position vas soon as the sleeve has returned to its resting position when the breech block has not yet completed its out and back trip for removal of the exploded and insertion of the fresh cartridge. The extensions r of the closing-members acted upon by the springs mdo not permit of said members going beyond'their normal position and eventually hindering the delivery of the fresh cartridge from the band and its introduction into the barrel.

The spring M may also be arranged in the immediate proximity of the sleeve so as to have its fixed point at D instead of at D1. By so timing the releasing movement of the members B that the pressure exerted by the teeth d on the projections plcommences immediately when the sleeve lstarts moving or a little later, it results that and causing its recoil will be increased or diminished. in this way, by utilizing a more or less strong returning spring, 'a higher or lower bullet velocity will be obtained or, the velocity remaining unaltered, a greater or smaller stress on the various parts and therewith a smaller recoil.

Having now described my invention and how the same is to be carried out, what I claim as my invention is:

l. In an automatic firearm, the combination, with a lixed barrel, a movable breech bloclr and means for locking the breech block in one position; of a sleeve slidably mounted on the barrel and extending the entire length thereof, said sleeve providing an internal gas expansion chamber in communication with the barrel to permit the gases of explosion to collect and expand in said chamber and force the sleeve forward; means on said sleeve for releasing said locking means during the sliding movement of the sleeve; and a spring for returning said sleeve adapted to be compressed by the forward movement of the sleeve.

2. ln an automatic firearm, the combination, with a fixed barrel, and a movable Ybreech block; of spring actuated catches engageable with the breech block to lock the same in one position; a gas actuated sleeve slidably mounted on the barrel and extending the entire length thereof, said sleeve providing an internal fas expansion chamber in communication with the barrel to permit the gases of explosion to collect and expand in said chamber and thereby force the sleeve forward; teeth on the rear end oi said sleeve engageable with said catches during the foi'- ward movement of the sleeve to release the catches frein engagement with the breech block; and a spring for returning said sleeve adapted to be compressed during the iterward movement of the rear end,

ARTURO BARDELLI. 

